Kennedy, Belt, Yetter and Goepfrich take titles. The final standings are confirmed, and the exciting final day at Beard of Zeus saw all four leaders hold their top spots after a fast and thrilling day at Timber Ridge.
Both of the women’s categories were locked up entering BoZ, and with Belt nursing a sore knee and Birgit Yetter contented to spend the full 90 minutes smiling, victories went to Susan Vigland in the Open and Cindy Duby in the Master’s. The result serves as a bit of a preamble for next season, with Vigland potentially prioritizing fat biking to challenge Belt and Cindy Duby already excited about gunning for the Series after discovering it this year.
While the challenge in the Men’s Master’s was more of a intramural scrimmage than a showdown, Rob Goepfrich flexed his muscles in the fast chasing group for much of the day, while teammates Paul Olsen, Hal BeVier and Steve Andriese used the afternoon as a chance to test their legs rather than attempt to influence the Open race. Rob G. takes his long awaited SBFBS title, one of the original racers on the circuit who’d always been forced down a step or two by teammates. BeVier takes second, while Einstein Racing-Short’s Brewing just barely achieved their goal of having a rider on each podium on the back of a determined and teeth-gritted Keith Conway.
The Men’s Open was the tightest entering BoZ, with Ryan Kennedy and Nick Wierzba separated by just 3 points. Wierzba put on a show of aggression early and did his best to shake an immediately isolated Kennedy, but the sheer force of the day’s 1-2 finishers, Rick Wetharald and Joel Polinsky, took away his numerical advantage. Kennedy and Wierba eye-balled and tarried before Kennedy pulled out a surprising sprint to nip Nick by a fraction of a second.
Keegan Myers rode a brilliant race and, indeed, Series to take a tough third place on final points. Jorden Wakeley managed fourth despite skipping the final race, with Kris Sands sandwiched between Einstein Racing-Short’s Brewing’s Jon Throop and Craig Fortuna. But Sands had the best luck of the day, winning the Bearclaw Bicycle Co. Balthazar frameset with the special “016” head badge.